Bye Bye Daddy
by Double M B
Summary: All we wanted to do was show Splinter how much we loved him. We didn't want this to happen. And now we have the responsibilities of adults. I mean we're only ten! All of this is my fault. It's all my fault. - Donnie. Rated T for tragic events and fighting. Please read!
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: This fanfic will be sad! Very sad! You might want to get some tissues. I do not own the amazing TMNT show or any of the characters. I only own the fanfic.**

"Finished!" Ten year old Mikey said, stepping back to stand with his brothers. They looked at their masterpiece.

"This was a great idea Don." Leo said, patting Don on the shell. The four ten year old turtle bros had built a life size sculpture of Splinter out of the trash they found. Don smiled.

"I can't wait to see Splinter's face when he sees this." Raph said, a smile on his face.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's go get him!" Mikey said, starting back to the lair. They all followed, stepping carefully over the crumbly rocks. In this part of the sewer, the water was near five feet deep and had a strong current that lead to a waterfall like end.

"Dad! Dad!" They called as they entered the lair. They ran to his room to find him meditating.

"Sorry sensai. We didn't know you were meditating." Leo said, bowing. Splinter opened his eyes.

"It's alright my sons." He said, standing, "What do you need?"

"We made something for you!" Mikey said, practicly jumping up and down.

"Follow us!" Raph said, leading the way. Don took Splinter's hand and started to lead him.

"Close your eyes Dad." Don said. Splinter smiled and shut his eyes, keeping them open slightly so he could see where he was going. His sons lead him to a part of the sewer he had never been before.

Splinter put his foot out and stepped on the crumbly part. The ground gave and he slipped. To make sure that he wouldn't drag Don, he let go of his son's hand.

"Dad!" Don yelled, falling and hitting his mouth on the concrete. One of his permanent front teeth popped out and fell into the water. Splinter hit the side of the concrete and was knocked unconscious. He fell into the water and was carried away.

"Dad!" The turtles screamed, running to try to keep up with their sensai. They got to the waterfall part. Splinter was thrown over the edge.

"DADDY!"" Don screamed, reaching towards nothing. They watched their father fade away.

"Daddy." Don kept saying, on his knees. Tears flowed down his face. He tasted blood, but he just dismissed this, "This was all my fault. It was all my fault." Don said, shaking. His brothers surrounded him, giving him a hug.

"It wasn't your fault Don," Leo said, his voice shaking as he tried to comfort his little brother. Raph stood nearby and had his arms crossed, biting his lip to keep him from crying. He stared the other direction, his held in tears blurring his vision.

"It was all my fault." Don said, looking up at his bother. Leo gasped.

"Don!" Leo said, seeing Don's bloody mouth, "We need to get you home!" He helped Don stand up. Don was still shaking and had his eyes shut tight.

"This isn't real. This isn't real." Don kept saying, shaking his head. Raph bit his lip so hard it began to bleed and tried not to cry. Mikey buried his face in Raph chest and cried. Raph put an arm around his little brother and lead him home, a single tear rolling down his green face.

"Don? Why didn't you tell me that you lost a tooth?!" Leo demanded, in big brother mode. Don wiped his eyes and got a new gause to put in his mouth.

"I wanted to catch up with Dad." Don mumbled, a tear escaping his eye. he snifled, not wanting to beleive that his father was gone.

"W-what are we gonna do without Daddy?" Mikey asked, holding onto his teddy bear. Leo turned around and put a hand on Mikey's shoulder.

"We'll have to take care of ourselves." Leo said. Mikey nodded and buried his face in his teddy bear, not wanting his brothers to see him cry. Don removed the gause and looked at himself.

"Great, now I don't even have a front tooth." Don said, running his tounge along the space, "Where's Raph?" Leo and Don looked around for their hothead brother.

Raph stood in his room. Punching his punching bag. Tears rolled down his face.

"Dad," He mumbled every so often. Sweat ran down his face.

_It's my fault. It was my idea to do it near the crumbly rocks. It's all my fault. If I hadn't have rushed him, he wouln't have fallen. I could've caught him, I could've saved him. All I did was watch him fall. I could've saved him. _Raph thought, his breath fast. Sweat and tears fell to the ground under him.

"Why?" He asked himself, falling to the ground in exaustion. His chest rose and fell quickly, his heart pounding hard. He looked at his fists. They were covered with blood from punching so hard. He got up and walked out of his room and into the kitchen, where his brothers were.

"Raph! Where were-" Leo said seeing Raph's knuckles, "Raph, your hand." Raph grumbled and walked to a cabnit, grabbing some bandages. He stuck them all over his hand then went back to his room.

"It's getting late, we'd better get to bed." Leo said, leaving to his room. He lay down in his bed and stared at the ceiling, a tear escaing his eyes every once and a while.

Mikey walked into his room and closed the door. He curled himself into a little ball on his bed and held his teddy bear. He sniffled and cried as quietly as he could.

Don sat on the edge of his bed, his face in his hands, and sobbed. In his mind, he played different sanarios, each ending the same way; Splinter's tradgic death.

**Please review. More should be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

Don's POV

_"Donatello." Splinter said, I looked up. I was in the middle of nowhere. Fog moved along the ground._

_"Dad?" I asked, looking around, "Dad, where are you?" I ran around, my heart pounding. I saw him before me. I ran to him, arms out wide, "Daddy!" I yelled, getting to him. I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in the familiar red robe._

_Suddenly, he faded away, "Good-bye my son." Splinter's voice said, echoeing around me. I looked around, tears falling down my face._

_"Don't leave me Daddy! I need you!" I screamed. Everything turned red. I peered around with blurred vision. Finally, an image appeared. I was in the sewer. The part of the sewer where Daddy fell. I buried my face in my hands, but couldn't stop the image from coming._

_He was in the water, "Dad!" I yelled, taking my hands from my face. I ran after the lifeless body. Daddy's head lifelessly bobbed in the water. Suddenly, I stopped. My feet wouldn't move. I struggled to get free from my invisible shackles._

_"Daddy!" I screamed as he fell over the edge. I pulled at my feet, but they still wouldn't move._

_"Don!" Leo's voice came. I looked around, trying to figure out where the sound came from. It was coming from everywhere._

_"Don! This was all your fault!" Raph's voice yelled. I fell to my knees and hugged myself. It was cold all of a sudden. I shivered, my tears coming out ice cold._

_"This was your idea! It's your fault Daddy's gone!" Mikey's voice said. I sobbed._

_"I-I didn't mean to!" I screamed, my voice shakey, "Daddy!" I screamed, looking around into the darkness. I needed some kind of comfort._

_"You're so stupid Don. Dad's gone because of you!" Raph yelled._

_"Daddy!" I cried out, seeing my breath. I held my hands to my face, "Daddy!" I stared up, looking for something. Anything._

_"I didn't mean to." I said solftly, choking on my sobs._

_"Don!" Leo yelled. I looked up. He was nowhere to be seen._

_"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed, shaking my head.I shut my eyes tight. The picture of Dad falling into the water and being carried away was glued to the insides of my eyelids. I quickly stood and started running. I had no clue where I was going, but I just ran. I wanted to get away. I wanted to stop the images._

_I wanted it all to end._

_"Don!" "Don!"_

Normal POV

"Don!" Leo yelled, shaking Don. Mikey and Raph stood behind. They were watching their brother thrash around in his sleep, screaming. Mikey was shaking, so Raph wrapped an arm around him. Leo stared at Don, his eyes teary.

"Don!" Leo yelled again, trying to wake Don from his nightmare.

"L-leo?" Don asked, opening an eye, "Don't yell at me! I didn't mean to!" Don yanked away and scooted away. He curled himself into a ball, tears falling from his eyes.

"What? Why would I yell at you?" Leo asked, moving to his little brother. Don turned around and wiped his eyes. He looked around his room, seeing he was out of his nightmare.

"Leo!" Don yelled, putting his arms around his big brother. He buried his face in Leo's chest and sobbed.

"I want Daddy Leo, I want Daddy." Don cried. Leo put a hand on the back of Don's head.

"We all want him." Leo said. Mikey turned to Raph and sobbed. Raph couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Leo!" Raph yelled, sitting next to him and crying on him also, "I want Daddy back!" Leo hugged two of his little brothers. Mikey sat down and wrapped his arms around his big brothers.

"Dad's gone and it's all my fault!" Don cried. Raph pushed away and stood up.

"Donatello! This wasn't your fault! Stop saying that!" Raph yelled. Don looked up at Raph and wiped his eyes.

"Raph. I know this and you know this. It was my idea to make the freakin' scupture and I was the one rushing Dad and telling him to shut his eyes. It was my fault Raph, my fault!" Don screamed, standing up. Leo stared at the ground, starting to cry. Mikey held his hands against his ears to keep from hearing his brothers fight.

"Stop yelling!" Leo said, standing in between his two sobbing brothers. The three of them looked at Mikey.

Mikey sat there, trembling. Tears rolled down his face and onto his teddy bear. He was cringing with his eyes shut tight and his hands on his head. They all sat down with their little brother.

"I. Want. Daddy." Mikey said between sobs. Leo had nothing to say, all he could do was try not to cry and try to be strong for his little brothers. They were his responsibility now.

_Don't cry Leo. You have to be strong for them. Don't cry. Heroes don't cry. _Leo thought as he bit his lip, and quickly wiped his eyes. Don and Mikey were huddled together in Raph and Leo's arms. Leo could tell that Raph was failing at trying not to cry. Raph sniffled, his head low.

"L-leo?" Mikey asked as their sobs subsided.

"Yeah?" Leo asked, letting go of his bros.

"Will Daddy ever come back?" Mikey asked, looking up with big baby blue eyes. Leo and Raph exchanged glances.

"Maybe." Leo answered with a smile. Mikey smiled and left to his room, dragging his teddy bear behind him. Leo and Raph left Don's room. Leo softly closed the door.

"You know you just lied to our little brother." Raph said, crossing his arms as they walked to their rooms.

"What was I supposed to say?" Leo asked, shrugging,, "I wasn't going to tell him no. He'd be heart broken."

"He's going to be more heart broken when he finds out that you lied to him." Raph said, closing his door. Leo stood in the hallway. He stared at the closed door. Raph was right, but either way Mikey would be disapointed.

Leo went back to his room and lay down. His mind raced. Him and his brothers were only ten years old and now had the responsibilities of thirty year old adults. Leo didn't want to have to be strong all the time. He didn't want to be an adult yet. He wanted to be a kid and have fun. Not be a ten year old adult who has a thousand responsibilities.

He turned over and forced his eyes shut. Worrying about tomorrow will have to wait until tomorrow.

**Please review! Hopefully, I can get more up soon.**

**Peace.**


	3. Chapter 3

Don yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. His room was pitch black. He jerked up, not wanting to be dreaming again. Franticly, he looked around. Finally, he saw a dim light from under his door and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Don? You awake?" Mikey asked, peeking his head in. Don pulled his feet over the side of his bed.

"Almost." Don said. Mikey opened the door and walked in, sitting next to Don. The orange mask was wrapped around his teddy bear, "What do you need?"

"Did Leo mean it when he said that Daddy might come back." Mikey asked, staring at the ground. Don put a hand on his little brother's shell.

"Well, anything can happen." Don said. Mikey snifled, a single tear falling to the ground, "Why were you thinking about that?" Don asked, looking at his digital clock he repaired. It was almost three in the morning.

"I-I couldn't sleep. Not after seeing you have your nightmare." Mikey said, fluffing his teddy's fur. Don looked at his brother, "I can't sleep after seeing any of my big brothers cry."

"You shouldn't be thinking about that." Don said. Mikey looked up at Don.

"What else is there to think about?" Mikey asked, standing. His eyes go teary again, "I mean, we don't have a dad anymore! We- we're only ten! We don't know how to cook, or clean, or do anything else Splinter did for us! I don't want to grow up!" Mikey fell to his knees, "Not yet!" His shoulders shook as he cried. Don snifled. He stood, grabbing a sobbing Mikey on the way.

"Where are we going?" Mikey asked as Don let go of him.

"Leo's room." Don answered, wiping his eyes on his arm. As they passed Raph's room, Raph came out.

"What are you doing out?" Mikey asked Raph. Raph stopped.

"Uh. Er. Well," He said, looking for a tough answer. He sighed, "I couldn't sleep. I was going to Leo's room." Raph finally said, his head low. Don and Mikey stared at him in disbelief.

"Well, let's go then." Don said, leading the way again. The three little brothers peeked their head inside their big brother's room.

"L-leo?" Mikey asked softly. Leo sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah Mikey?" He asked. Then, he saw Don and Raph, "And Don and Raph."

"None of us could sleep." Raph said. Leo looked at all his little brothers. They all stared at him with wide eyes.

"Come on then," Leo said, patting his bed. They came int he bed and piled in. It was a good thing that Leo had a big bed.

"Thanks Leo." Don said, snuggling under the covers.

"Thank you!" Mikey said, hugging his bear.

"Yeah. Uh thanks." Raph quickly said, turning over to face the wall.

"You're welcome." Leo said, shutting his eyes.

There was a sudden bang. Leo snapped awake, jerking up. His brothers were gone.

"Mikey? Don? Raph?" He asked, tying his mask on and walking out of his room. There was another bang. Leo strarted to run to the sound. It came from the kitchen. He rushed in,, hoping that none of his brothers were hurt.

"Oh, hi Leo." Mikey said, sitting on the floor with flour all over him. He sneezed, blowing flour everywhere and making a cloud of dust. Leo looked around the room. Eggs were broken on the counter. Flour covered most of the floor and all of the counter. Pots and pans were scattered everywhere and some of the cabnits were open. The stove was on, a pan on top of it.

"Mikey!" Leo yelled looking around, "What. Happened in here?" Mikey looked around and stood up.

"Uh, well, me and Don woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep so we came in here to make breakfast.

"Where's Don then?" Leo asked, looking at the mess. Mikey shrugged.

"Look!" Mikey said, holding up a black crumbly pancake, "I made it myself!" He smiled, proud of his pancake. Leo held his nose and weakly smiled.

"Good job Mikey." Leo said, trying to sound proud. Mikey sat the pancake down and stared at it, wiping flour from his face.

"You don't like it do you?" He asked, a smile still stuck on his face. Leo slowly shook his head, "Good, 'cause I don't either." Mikey picked up the plate and dumped the pancake in the trash.

"At least you tried." Leo said, patting Mikey on the shell. Don began to enter. He saw Leo and started to back away, "Don?"

"Darn it." Don said, entering. He held a giant cook book in front of him.

"How much trouble are we in?" Don asked plainly.

"You aren't in any trouble. Just help me clean." Leo said, going to bet a mop.

"That's worse!" Mikey said.

"Mikey, go shower. You smell and look like a burt ghost." Leo noted. Don hed his nose and stepped away. Mikey sighed and started to leave.

"No, THIS is worse!" He said, disapearing to the shower. Don smiled. Leo anded Don a mop and they got to work.

"How does he do that?" Don asked Leo. Leo looked at him.

"What?" Leo asked, not understanding.

"Make you smile in times of doubt." Don answered with a toothy smile.

"You look weird without a front tooth." Leo pointed out. Don ran his tounge along the space.

"Yeah. I don't think that I'll ever get used to this." Don said. Leo dumped his mop in the dirty water. Raph entered the room.

"Raph?" Leo asked, seeing something in his hands, "What's in your hands?" Raph stared at him with wide eyes.

"N-nothing." Raph said, stepping away from the doorway.

"Raphael." Leo ordered, giving Raph 'the stare'. Raph sighed and pulled what was behind him in fron to him.

"First of all, don't call me that. Second of all, I made pancakes." Raph said, holding a plate of around ten pancakes on it. He sat it on the table.

"Wow Raph. They're actually pancakes. That are golden, not black." Leo said, inspecting them. Don pulled two on a plate of his own and poked them with his fork.

"What did you do to them?" Don asked, glaring at Raph.

"I didn't do nothin' to them!" Raph said, crossing his arms, "I make something and you guys _assume_ that I did somthing to them?" He asked. Don looked at him with a raised eyebrow ridge. Raph sighed, "Fine. Don't eat. That's okay with me." He said, throwing his hands in the air. Don slowly cut a peice off and ate it.

"It's actually pretty good." Don said, smiling. Raph sat down.

"Do NOT tell Mikey that I made this. Okay?" Raph said.

"Why?" Both Leo and Don asked.

"He'll make fun of me for it. He always does." Raph said, rubbing his head. Leo rose his eyebrow ridges.

"He makes fun of you? I thought it was just joking around." Leo said, taking another bite of his pancakes.

"Yeah. I thought you guys knew." Raph said.

"I thought it was just a joke." Don said, Leo nodded.

"Well, since you guys are clueless and we don't have Splinter no more, I might as well be straight. Late at night, when you guys were alseep, I had talks with Dad. Mikey really hurt my feelings. I-I, I, well cried about it. Dad was my only safe haven. He told me it was okay, and it was. I don't know what I'll do now since he's gone." Raph said, staring at the still flour-covered table. Don and Leo exchanged glances.

"Wait. What?" Don asked, very confused right now.

"Go ahead. Make fun of me. The tough guy gone soft." Raph said, putting his head down.

"We'd never-" Leo began.

"Raph." Mikey said, standing in the doorway, "I had no clue." Raph looked over his shoulder at Mikey.

"Great. Everything is just so great." Raph said sarcasticly, his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry." Mikey said, water dripping off him. Raph looked at his brother.

"Th-thanks Mikey." Raph slowly said. Mikey ran over and hugged his brother, "Okay Mikey. I get it, you're sorry. Okay Mikey, I can't breath!" Raph said, trying to squeez out of his little brother's hug. Leo and Don smiled.

"Hey Mikey and Raph," Don said, standing up with Leo.

"What?" They both asked. Leo and don smiled.

"We had to clean the floor, you do everything else!" Leo yelled, running away. Don salutted them.

"Good luck." He said, catching up with Leo.

"Wait!" Mikey said.

"Come on Mikey. Let's get to work." Raph said . Mikey sighed and picked up a washcloth.

**I hope you liked this chapter. It was more focused on brotherly bonding. Please review.**

**Peace.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Mikey? Raph?" Leo asked, "You done cleaning?" He and Don walked into the kitchen. It was worse than before.

"What were you two doing?!" Don asked, looking around. The kitchen table was overturned with Mikey hiding behind it with a pot on his head. Raph had a chair circle around him with a paper towel roll sword. They both stood, flour falling off of them.

"We were cleaning, but we got bored." Raph said, hands behind his back. Leo slapped his forehead and sighed.

"You two go get showers then go to your rooms." Leo said, pointing. Mikey stared at the ground and left. Raph still stood there with his arms crossed.

"You're not the boss of us. Mikey, come back here!" Raph said, Mikey stopped and walked back in.

"Since I'm the oldest, I'm the boss. Mikey, go get a shower." Leo said, Mikey started away again.

"Stay Mikey!" Raph ordered. Mikey blinked and walked back over.

"No offense Leo, but I'm more scared of Raph." Mikey said, standing next to his red banded brother.

"Michelangelo!" Leo yelled, giving him 'the stare'. Mikey shuddered and left to take a shower.

"Traitor!" Raph yelled.

"Raphael, would you be doing this if Splinter was here?" Leo asked sternly.

"Well he's not here Leo!" Raph yelled, taking a step towards his older brother. Don stepped back, staring at them. Leo straightened.

"Still, you need to obey orders!" Leo yelled back. Raph glared at him.

"You're not the boss of me!" Raph screamed, making Don jump. Raph pushed Leo aside and ran away from the lair.

"Raph! Come back!" Leo yelled, trying to catch up. Don stopped him.

"He needs some alone time Leo." Don said. Leo stared at the entrance then finally turned around.

"Let's get to work on the kitchen." Leo said, handing Don a mop. They started again on the messy room.

Raph quickly wiped his tears as he ran. He was breathing hard. He had no clue where he was going. All he needed was to get away. Suddenly, his foot slipped and he fell hard on the concrete.

"Ow," He said, sitting up and looking at himself. There was a small scrape on his shoulder and a giant lightning shaped chip out of his plastron. He looked around the ground for the chip. He found it and looked at it with wide eyes. Timidly, he put it back into position. It fit like a glove. He went to stand and it popped out, falling into the sewer water. Donnie had already told him about what was in sewer water so Raph wouldn't dare try to get it back.

Raph took a seat and let his feet dangle over the edge. Not touching the water of course. He slumped over and rested his head in his hands. Then, he spotted something moving around in the water. He jumped up and slowly picked it up.

It was a baby turtle. Raph smiled and sat it in his lap.

"Hey little guy." He said, rubbing its head, "What were you doing in there?" The little turtle looked up at him. Raph scooted back from the edge and sat the turtle down on the concrete, sitting in between it and the water.

"I'm Raph, what's your name?" Raph asked, joking around. He leaned down close to the turtle, "I guess you don't have one huh?" The turtle started wabbling away. Raph picked it up by the shell and sat it back in front of him.

"I'm no Mikey when it comes to naming things, but I'll try." He said, examining it. He rubbed his chin, placing a hand on its shell, "Your shell is kind of spikey. How about Spike?" He asked. Spike looked up at Raph. It seemed as if the little turtle was smiling. Raph smiled back.

"Well now since we're done introducing ourselves, I need to say something," Raph said, putting Spike on his lab again. Spike looked up at Raph with wide eyes, "Well, yesterday, my dad fell. He's probaly dead and I'm not even going to sugar-coat it. It's the horrrible truth." Spike looked around.

"Anyway, Donnie keeps blaming himself and it's killing me," Spike looked back at Raph, "Oh sorry. It just really hurts. I don't like seeing any of my brothers cry. Especially Mikey bacause being a big brother means that you have to keep your little brother safe. I felt helpless watching Don have his nightmare, and when he woke up and saw us and freaked out." Raph started to tear up. Spike nuzzled near Raph. Raph smiled, placing a hand on Spike's shell.

"I'm supposed to e the strong one. I'm supposed to be the protecter. I could've saved Daddy, but I was scared. I don't like being scared because when I'm scared, I'm a wuss. I'm not able to keep anyone safe. I just watch like a little wuss." Raph snifled, a tear falling onto Spike.

"I know it was wrong to yell at Leo, and I don't really know why I did. in situations like that, I see red. i can't control what's going on, it's like I'm watching a movie. A really scary movie. My brothers don't understand. I-I just don't want to be bossed around by anyone but Dad. That's why I wouldn't listen to Leo." Raph buried his face in his hands, crying. Spike crawled out of Raph's lab and stopped, staring at Raph. Spike rested his head on the red turtle.

"You understand me, don't you Spike?" Raph asked, holding Spike up. Spike opened his mouth then closed it, "I thought so."

Raph looked around, looking for some food for Spike. He found some leaves from a thrown out salad. Thankfully, it wasn't in the sewer water. he picked up the leaves and sat them next to Spike. Spike waddled over and began eating.

"You really like leaves." Raph said, sitting next to him. Spike looked up at Raph with a leaf in his mouth. Raph laughed, "Let's get you home." Raph craddled the little tturtle as he carefully made his way home.

"Was I to mean?" Leo asked Don and a now squeeky clean Mikey.

"Leo, you shouldn't be worrying about that. Just say sorry when Raph comes back." Don said. Leo paced around the TV room, hands behind his back. Mikey rubbed a towel ober his head.

"Where do you think he went?" Mikey asked, shaking water from his ears.

"He probaly just kept running until he got tired." Leo answered.

"That means Florida Leo." Don pointed out. Leo sighed and kept pacing. They heard someone coming.

"Hey guys." Raph said, entering the lair.

"Raph!" Don and Mikey exclaimed, going to meet their big brother.

"What's that?" Mikey asked, looking at Raph's hands.

"It's a, uh, turtle. I found him." Raph said, going over to the couch and sitting Spike down.

"What's his name?" Don asked, going to pet him. Raph pushed Don's hand away.

"His name is Spike." Raph said, looking over at Leo, "Can I keep him?"

"Yeah, sure." Leo answered, folding his arms. Raph stood.

"I'm, uh, sorry Leo." Raph said softly.

"I'm sorry too." Leo said, the two turtles hugged. Mikey smiled at them, raising his hand, "Yes Mikey?"

"I'm hungry." Mikey said, "Who's going to fix our algea and worrms?" All four brothers exchanged glances.

"Let's all just work together." Leo said, leading everyone to the clean kitchen.

After a long half an hour, the turtles finally had a big bowl of algea and worms.

"I bet that the surface has better food." Don said, poking his food with his chopsticks. Leo closed his eyes and ate.

"We should go up to the surface!" Mikey said.

"No!" All the brothers said together. Mikey sat back.

"Well, not yet." Leo said, "We're not old enough yet." He said, repeating what Splinter used to say, "And besides, it's winter and we're cold blooded." Mikey stared at his plate.

"It's also December. Almost Christmas." Mikey said softly. The brothers stopped eating.

"What are we going to do on Christmas?" Don asked Leo. Leo shrugged.

"i guess we're not getting presents." Raph commented. Leo elbowed him.

"I'd better get to bed." Don said, getting out of his seat and taking his plate to the sink. He dumped it in then left to his room. Mikey slowly stood and left too.

"Raph!" Leo yelled quietly.

"What?" Raph asked, watching worms crawl around on his plate, "I was only saying the truth."

"You shouldn't say things like that to them." Leo said.

"Why?"

"Because Donnie and Mikey are our little brothers and you should be more aware of their feelings." Leo said.

"What's the difference between this and when you lied to Mikey?" Raph asked, getting up. Leo was at a loss of words. He sat in the kitchen alone. Staring at his food and thinking.

"I wish Dad was here." Leo said, laying his head down.

**Please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry this chapter is late! I've been REALLY busy lately!**

Mikey lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Was Raph right?" He asked his teddy, "Are we going to have a Christmas?" The bear's head slumped down, "Yeah. I guess not." Mikey sat up and dangled his feet over his bed, sitting his teddy beside him.

"Don seemed really upset." Mikey told his bear, "I hate it when Don is sad. It makes me sad." He looked at his teddy bear. It fell back onto the bed, "I know, I need to go to bed. But I can's sleep. There's to many things on my mind." Mikey held his teddy in front of him.

"No, I'm not going to Leo. I don't want to be a bother to anyone right now." Mikey said, looking into his teddy's black button eyes, "Good idea. I'll just take a quick walk to tire myself out." He sat his bear down, "I'll be right back. Don't move!" He said, sitting it up on the bed. Mkey slowly and quietly walked to his door and out the lair.

"I wonder where Raph got that big chip out of his shell." Mikey thought to outloud. He looked around in the darkness. Only knowing where he was going because of the light coming through a few grates. He sat down, listening to the rushing sewer water. Images floated into his head of his father in the water. He yanked his feet back and scooted away.

Pictures popped into his head of his dad falling into the water, trying not to drag Donnie. Mikey was watching a slideshow of images that he tried to push away. He saw Don scramble up and try to get his dad. Mikey was now against the wall, his knees held to his chest. He closed his eyes and held his head, wanting the pictures to go away before the bad part showed up.

In slow-mo, Mikey watched his father fall over the edge and fade away.

"Daddy!" Mikey screamed, living in the past. He saw the picture of Don kneeled on the ground, blood coming from his mouth and tears from his eyes. Mikey took a deep breath and tried to tell himself that it was all a memory and there was nothing to fear.

That was the scary part though. It _did _happen. All Mikey could do was watch; he couldn't interfere and try to stop it. Mikey covered his face with his hands and sobbed. He wanted his daddy to be here. Right here next to him. But he couldn't. He couldn't because he was dead. Dead as a doornail.

Mikey's shoulders shook as the images stopped on the one of Splinter falling. Mikey opened his eyes and tried to forget everything.

"This is all a crazy dream. When I wake up, Daddy's gonna be right here next to me." Mikey kept saying. The thing was it wasn't a dream. It was a living nightmare. Mikey wanted to go back home and walk in and be greeted by Splinter's warm hug. He wanted so badly to bury his face in the familiar red robe that smelt like tea.

"I hate my life." Mikey admitted to no one. He sniffled and wiped his eyes, looking around the dark sewer. Slowly, he stood and began walking. He put one foot out and it missed the concrete. He slipped down into the cold water. It was only ankle deep here. Mikey let out a scream. He cringed, the cold water splashing around him.

Shakily, Mikey stood. He hugged himself, trying his best to keep his cold blood warm. He shivered as he slowly made his way home, carefull to keep his footing. His teeth chattered and to make it worse, snow was falling through the grate. His feet slapped on the cold concrete as Mikey miserably trekked home.

He couldn't stand it any longer. He collasped to his knees, "Donnie! Raph! Leo!" he screamed, intensly shaking. His eyes teared up but his tears froze before they could fall. Mikey felt light headed and tired all of a sudden, "Leo." Mikey said softly, laying down. His eyes drifted shut and he lost consciousness.

"Leo!" Don yelled, jumping up from his bed. Leo rushed in, followed by Raph.

"What is it Don?" Leo asked, out of breath with a hand on the doornob. Raph stood behind him with his sais out.

"I heard Mikey yell for us!" Don said, leavign his room. He opened the door to Mikey's room. He wasn't there, "Mikey's not in bed!" Mikey's teddy bear was slumped against the pillow where Mikey left him.

"Where did the yell come from?" Leo asked. Don pondered this and looked around. He pointed to the lair exit.

"That way." Don said.

"Why would Mikey just wonder off?" Raph asked, starting to follow his brothers out.

"Maybe he couldn't sleep." Don suggested with a shrug.

"If he couldn't sleep, he'd come to my room." Leo said. Raph shivered.

"Why would that shell brain wonder off in this cold?" Raph asked, rubbing his arms to keep warm. Don was in the lead.

"Mikey!" Don screamed, rushing towards his brother. There wasn't a response. Don knelt down next to Mikey's un-moving body and turned him over.

"He's blue!" Raph said. Don checked Mikey's pulse. He was still breathing.

"Guys, I think Mikey go hypothermia. We need to get him home. NOW." Don said, starting to pick up his little brother. Raph helped and grabbed Mikey's legs.

"Wake up Mikey!" Leo said, putting his hand up to Mikey's face, "Don, his face is ice cold!" Raph started panting. He didn't want his dad _and_ his baby brother to be gone. They got to the lair and lay Mikey down on the couch. Leo quickly got a bunch of blankets and wrapped them around Mikey.

"I think Mikey just had the mild condition which means that he'll most likely be okay." Don said, "I'll get a heat pack to put on him to rewarm him. Raph, go get a heater. Leo, get Dad's electric blanket." Raph and Leo left to get the objects.

"Come on Mikey, wake up." Don said, putting a hand on the orange turtle's head. He got up and got the heat pack, putting it in the microwave. After a little bit, he got it out and brought it back in. He saw Raph setting up the heater. Leo was putting the electric blanket on his brother.

"Will he be okay Don?" Raph asked, coming over and sitting next to Mikey.

"He should." Don said, carefully placing the heat pack on Mikey's head.

"No, _will _he?" Raph asked, more sternly. Don looked at him.

"Yes." Don said after a long silence. Raph looked away.

"Don, I think he moved!" Leo said, pointing. Don turned his attention to Mikey. He noticed Mikey's head moving. Mikey's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Guys?" He asked weakly, looking around with half-shut eyes. His brothers surrounded him.

"We're right here Mikey." Leo said sith a smile.

"Where's Daddy?" Mikey asked, sitting up and looking around. Leo looked at Don.

"Don't get up Mikey, you need to relax." Don said, laying Mikey down again.

"Where's Daddy though?" Mikey asked again. Raph opened his mouth to tell the truth but Don shushed him.

"He's in bed." Don lied, "You can go to bed once you're warmed up again."

"What happened?" Mikey asked, not remembering.

"You fell in the sewer water and got a mild case of hypothermia." Don answered. Mikey gave a confused look, "You turned into a Mikey-cicle." Mikey smiled. After a little bit, Mikey sat up and rubbed his head.

"I'm warm now." Mieky said, gaining his memory a little bit. Don smiled.

"You can take the electric blanket to bed with you if you like." Don said. Mikey picked it up and dragged it to his room.

"Well we just have a big triangle of lies with Mikey." Raph said once Mikey was out of sight. Don and Leo shot him a glance.

"I couln't just say that Dad wasn't here because he was dead now could I?! He just woke up from being knocked out cold; I wasn't just going to let the cat out of the bag and him freak out." Don answered, waving his arms around for emphasis. Raph rolled his eyes and left to his room.

"You did the right thing Don." leo said, patting Don on the shell, "Will he remember what just happened?"

"Probaly not. He'll probaly think it was just a dream." Don said, him and Leo standing to go to their rooms.

"Goodnight Don." Leo said as Don entered his room.

"Night Leo." Don said, laying down. He pulled his purple covers over him and rolled over to face the wall. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

A week before Christmas- a week after the accident

"What do you think I should make for them?" Mikey asked his teddy, "Yeah, I guess it's not Christmas without a tree." Mikeu looked around his room for something that could be used for a tree.

"Mikey?" Came Don's voice from the hallway, "Where are you?" He opened Mikey's door.

"Right here. What do you need?" Mikey asked, pushing his teddy away.

"It's your turn to do the dishes." Don said, his head peeked inside the door, "What are you doing in here?"

"N-nothing." Mikey lied with a small smile. Don smiled back.

"You still have to do the dishes." Don said, coming in all the way.

"I thought this was Raph's day? I usually have Mondays or Fridays." Mikey said, scratching his head.

"Leo and I can't find him. You know how he is." Don said. Raph disappearing was a normal part of the day now. No on knew where he went.

"Cost is clear man." A dark-haired boy said, standing next to a manhole cover.

"Thanks Casey." Raph said, climbing out. Raph had a giant coat on that Casey loaned to him. Casey nodded. He pushed his hokey mask to the top of his head and adjusted his golfbag.

"Dude, it is so cool that you're a turtle." Casey said as they got up onto the roof. Raph sat down on the edge.

"You're the first human friend I've ever had." Raph said, staring off the roof. Casey walked over and sat down.

"So let me get this straight, you are a giant turtle, who can talk and you've been locked up in the sewer for ten whole years." Casey said, rembering everything the turtle had told him. Raph nodded, still not looking at Casey.

"Yup." Raph said.

"But who raised you? I mean, if you were a baby when you mutated, someone had to have raised you." Casey asked. Raph straightened and gave Casey an evil glare. Raph got up and jumped onto the next roof.

"What did I say?" Casey asked, running after the turtle. Raph stopped and grabbed Casey by the shirt. Since Casey was taller, Raph yanked him down.

"Do NOT talk about my dad. Got it?" Raph asked sternly. He stared into Casey's eyes.

"Got it! Now please let me go!" Casey pleaded, hands up in defense. Raph released him, "What's your deal man?" Casey backed away. Raph stared at the ground.

"Nothing." Raph said, pulling his coat tighter, "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" Casey laughed.

"Of course not! It's winter break. And besides, I would be skipping school anyway." Casey answered with a shrug. Raph smiled at his new friend.

"What's school like? Donnie has always wanted to go." Raph asked, sitting down again.

"What's school like?! Ha! It's horrible, be thankful that you don't have to go." Casey said, crossing his arms, "Who's Donnie? I thought I was your only human friend."

"Donnie's one of my brothers." Raph answered.

"One?! Ther's more of you?!" Casey asked, his eyes wide.

"I have three brothers. Leo's the oldest, then me, then Donnie, then Mikey. Our full names are Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo." Raph said, finally looking at Casey.

"Wait, you mean like those artists?"

"Exactly."

"Man your dad must've been a weird dude who must've been obsessed with art." Casey said before thinking. Raph shot Casey a glance, "It was just a bad choice of words!" He said, hands up. Raph's stomach growled.

"I'm hungry." Raph said, placing a hand on his stomach.

"You wanna get some pizza or something?"

"What's pizza?" Raph asked, his head cocked to one side. Casey stared at him in disbeleif. Hsi jaw dropped.

"You don't know what _pizza _is?!" Casey asked. Raph shook his head. Casey pulled his hands through his long-ish hair.

"Then we HAVE to get pizza." Casey said, motioning for Raph to follow. Raph stood and followed Casey across the roof tops. They stopped on the roof next to the pizza parlor. Raph breathed in the pizza air.

"That smells really good." Raph said, looking inside the windows.

"You stay here, I'll go get some." Casey said, staring to climb down.

"You'll pay right?" Raph asked.

"You sound like my mom." Casey said, rolling his eyes. He climbed down and walked in. Raph slouched down so no one would see him. He watched Casey walk in and get some pizza. He climbed back up, a steaming pizza in his arms.

"You didn't pay man!" Raph said, pushing Casey.

"Hey! I got pizza didn't I?" Casey asked, opening the box. He held one out for Raph. Raph stared at it and Casey. He slowly took the pizza and held it, "You gonna eat it or not?" Casey asked, his mouth full. Raph looked at the pizza he held in his hand; the cheese and pepperoni was steaming.

Slowly, Raph took a bite. It hit his taste buds and he immediatly smiled, "This is amazing! I never thought that I'd ever taste anything better then algea and worms!" Raph exclaimed. Casey stared at Raph with a discusted face. Raph shrugged and grabbed another slice.

"Leave some for me!" Casey said, picking up another peice. They sat there and ate the whole pizza.

"So what are your brothers like?" Casey asked, making sure not to say anything about Raph's dad.

"Well, Leo is really bossy sometimes and thinks that he's _always _the one in charge just because he's the oldest. Donnie is really smart and knows how to build stuff out of nothing but trash. And Mikey of course is the one the three of us try to protect 'cause he's the youngest and all, and he's kind of funny sometimes and kind of annoying sometimes." Raph said, rubbing his stomach. Casey stared off the roof and slowly nodded.

"Well it's gettin' late." He said, standing up.

"You wanna come to the lair- I mean where I live to stay the night?" Raph asked, pointing towards his home.

"I don't see why not." Casey said with a shrug. Raph lead him to the right manhole cover and lead the way down and home, "It stinks down here." Casey commented, holding his nose.

"You get used to it." Raph said as they neared the lair. He stepped in and made a hand motion around the giant TV room, "Welcome!"

"Woah! I mean just wow." Casey said, taking it all in. He looked at all the games, "I am at a loss of words man." Raph smiled, "Where's your bros?"

"They'll hear me and come in here." Raph said, arms crossed.

"Raph! There you ar-" Leo said, drying his hands, "Who's that?"

"You're like another version of Raph here!" Casey said, walking over to Leo. Leo looked at Raph with a lot of authority.

"Leo, this is Casey. Casey, this is Leo." Raph said.

"Oh, so _this _is the Leo guy you've been talking about so much." Casey mocked, an eyebrow raised. Raph rolled his eyes.

"Why did you bring a human here Raph?!" Leo demanded, walking over to Raph.

"I met him." Raph answered, "On the surface." Raph smirked.

"You went topside?!" Mikey asked, entering the room. He saw Casey, "Woah! A human!" Mikey said, running to him, "I'm Mikey, who are you?"

"Casey. Casey Jones."

"Casey is a girl's name." Mikey joked.

"Is not! It can be a guy name too!" Casey objected. Mikey laughed.

"Sure, you can think whatever you want _MS. _Jones." Mikey said, laughing and leaving the room. Casey turned to Leo and Raph, who were quietly arguing.

"I'm a normal human in the middle of a room with a bunch of mutants and _I'm _the strange one." Casey commented.

"Raphael! You weren't even supposed to go topside alone! Is that what you've been doing all this time?! When you were supposed to be doing chores with us?!" Leo asked sternly, standing over Raph.

"Woah, he just full named you man. You must be in a lot of trouble." Casey said with a smile. Both Leo and Raph shot his a glance, "I'll just be in the kitchen with the orange turtle" He left the room.

"Well, for your information _Leonardo, _I got bored and I had to get out of here to get away from your bossing me around!" Raph yelled, stepping forward.

"I don't boss you around!" Leo yelled back.

"Okay then, what do you call it?" Raph asked. Leo opened his mouth to speak but found nothing to say. Raph smirked, knowing he got to Leo.

"Just warn us when you're about to bring a total idiotic stranger into the house." Leo said, pushing by and leaving to his room. Raph walked into the kitchen.

"Raph, who is this idiotic stranger?" Don asked as Raph entered. Casey looked over at Donnie.

"Hey man. Or turtle, I'm right here you know." Casey said.

"Ding ding, we have a winner. Now who are you?" Donnie asked, leaning forward.

"Casey Jones! How many times do I have to say it?!" Casey said, his hands on his head. Raph rolled his eyes and grabbed a soda.

"And why are you here?" Don asked.

"Raphiel boy over there brought me." Casey said with a smirk. Raph punched him hard on the arm, "Ow!"

"Don't call me Raphie boy Miss Casey." Raph said, smiling as he took a drink of his soda. Casey shot Raph an evil glare.

"You wanna keep going? 'Casue I got A LOT of names to call you!" Casey said. Raph rose and stood in front of Casey.

"Oh yeah well I have something I would like to say you-" Raph said

"Okay then. Let's break it up." Don said, interupting Raph before some words were said. Mikey didn't have the colorful vocabulary like Raph and Leo and Don wanted to keep it that way.

"Fine. We can wait 'til tomorrow to have our little 'talk'." Casey said, sitting back down.

"Tomorrow?" Don asked Raph.

"Yeah, when Raph comes topside." Casey said before Raph could answer.

"T-topside?" Donnnie asked in amazement, "What was it like? Did you have anything to eat?" Don asked, leaning up on the table.

"It was great." Raph said, making sure that Leo could hear, "I ate some _pizza_."

"What's that?" Both Don and Mikey asked. Casey just stared at them.

"Man you guys don't know anything!" Casey said as Raph turned to the two youngest turtles to explain the miracle of pizza.

**I know this chapter was a little boring but I really wanted to introduce Casey for some reason. Please review!**


	7. Author's Notes

**Sorry for no new chapter lately, I've been on vacation and haven't had much time to write because I have to "spend time with my family". *rolls eyes* **

**Btw, I don't like people watching me as I write. (My family members are a bunch of stockers)**

**I should be able to get the new chapter up really soon so stick with me!**

**:)**


	8. Chapter 7

"Good-bye Casey, it wasn't a pleasure." Leo said, pushing Casey away from the lair, "Come down any time, but call first." Casey was about to say something but Leo rushed away.

"Raph." He said sternly as he entered the kitchen where his three brothers sat.

"Well that was nice." Mikey said, looking at all his brothers.

"I still can't beleive that you went topside Raph!" Leo said, trying to sound like Splinter did when they got in trouble. Raph shrugged, tipping his chair back. Leo put his hands on his waist, "Raph, just for this, you get to do the dishes ALL next week." Raph's chair fell back and Raph hit the floor.

"What?!" Raph asked, scrambling up.

"And I'm going to keep a close eye on you to make sure you don't go to the surface!" Leo said.

"Here you go again bossing me around! That's the whole reason I went topside you idiot! How stupid can you be?!" Raph yelled. Leo stepped back. Mikey and Don's jaws dropped; they couldn't beleive what Raph just called Leo.

"R-raph," Leo said softly. Raph paused, realizing what he just said. He huffed and left to his room. Leo started to follow but stopped in the doorway, "I'm going to bed guys, night."

"It's only like 8:30." Don said, looking over at the clock.

"Goodnight." Leo said assertively, leaving.

"I hate this." Mikey said, resting his head in his hands, "I mean it's been like a week and they're still at it." Don looked at his little brother.

"I don't think any of us will get used to this." Don said with a shrug, "Want to play a video game or something?"

"Mario Kart?"

"Sure," Don said. Him and Mikey stood and walked into the TV room, starting up the game.

A few days before Christmas

"Come on Don, get the tree down here!" Mikey yelled as quietly as he could. Don grunted as he pushed the tiny pine tree down the manhole.

"This is harder then it looks!" He said. They both had blankets wrapped around them to keep warm. The tree finally fell down. Don climbed down and closed the manhole cover.

"Leo and Raph are gonna love this!" Mikey said, helping Don move the tree. It was a only a little over four feet tall but was still hard to move. Don grit his teeth as he pushed it. He was getting more used to not having his front tooth. Mikey pulled as hard as he could once they got to the lair.

"Shush! We don't want them to hear us!" Don said as they entered the lair.

"Where are we gonna put it?" Mikey whispered.

"Let's bring it into the dojo. We gotta be on guard and make sure neither of them go in there." Don said, dragging the tree to the dojo. They finally got it in there and stood it up.

"It looks awesome!" Mkey said, walking around it, "We got the perfect one!" Don stepped back and looked at it.

"I can't wait to decorate it." Don said with a huge smile, "We'd better get to bed before Leo notices we're gone." They began to leave.

"We should make them some presents, then on Christmas Eve night, we can bring the tree and the presents in for them!" Mikey suggested.

"Good idea. We'll work on the gifts tomorrow. Night Mikey." Don said, closing his bedroom door. Mikey smiled as he shut his door and jumped into bed.

"I'm so excited Teddy!" Mikey said, picking up his bear, "I'm going to make Donnie something so he'll have something to open." He pulled the cover from around him and put it over him, "I hope I can make them smile. I like to see them happy." Mikey rolled over and held his teddy.

"Don? You up?" Mikey asked, standing over his brother. Don opened his eyes. He saw Mikey's face in front of his and let out a short scream. He scrambled away and cowered next to the wall. Seeing he was not in a nightmare, Don shot Mikey an evil glare.

"You know I don't like being woken up like that!" Don yelled as quietly as he could. He punched Mikey in the arm and stood up. Mikey smiled and handed Don something, "What's this?" Don asked, looking at it.

"Supplies to make Leo and Raph's cards. We can go back to the surface later and find then some kind of presents to wrap." Mikey answered.

"Then we can use newspaper to wrap them." Don suggested as they made their way to the kitchen. Mikey scattered the supplies all over the table and sat down.

"Let's do Leo first." Mikey said. Don nodded.

"Use blue paper for him." Don said, picking out a peice of blue paper. They started coloring all over it. Mikey wrote him a little note then signed his name in orange. Don got a black marker and wrote his name neatly at the bottom.

"What are we supposed to say for Raph?" Mikey asked, getting a peice of red paper and folding it in half.

"Um, thanks for protecting us?" Don suggested with a shrug.

"It needs to be more heartfelt. What kind of stuff has Raph done?" Mikey said.

"Hmm, well all he does is fight with Leo and make us feel bad." Don said, "Just say thanks for protecting us." Mikey stared at Don for a little bit then wrote it on the paper.

"I hope they like it. Raph will probably just look at it then throw it away." Mikey said, signing his name at the botton of the note. He slowly passed the paper to Don then looked away.

"Don't say that Mikey, he'll like it." Don said, trying to encourage his only little brother. Mikey sniffled and stared at the table.

"He doesn't care about anything I do." Mikey said, laying his head down and silently crying, "I can't do anything right for him." Don just stared at Mikey. He didn't know what to say. His eyes started to tear up.

"W-want breakfast?" Don asked, trying to change the subject. Mikey slightly nodded. Don pulled out a pan and started on some pancakes. He was getting pretty good but didn't really like cooking as much as Mikey did. Don was suprised that Mikey didn't volunteer to help. He really must be feeling bad.

"I'll go put the cards with the tree." Mikey said, standing and picking the cards up. Don picked up all the supplies and put them away.

"Hey Don, why are you up so early?" Leo asked, tying his mask as he entered the kitchen. Don went to the counter and started mixing some pancake batter.

"Uh, Mikey and I couldn't sleep and it was almost the normal time to get up so we came in here." Don said, pouring some of the batter into the pan. Leo put a hand on Don's shoulder.

"Did you have another nightmare?" Leo asked, scared for his second youngest brother. Don smiled.

"No, I just couldn't sleep. That's all." Don said. Leo let out a sigh of relief and sat down.

"Remember the chocolate chips!" Mikey exclaimed, running in. He, apparently, was feeling better. He sat down next to Leo, "When did you get up Leo?" Mikey asked.

"Just a while ago. You know, I was thinking about starting training back today. I've been reading some of Splinter's books he gave me and I think that we could do some katas." Leo said with a smile.

"NO!" Both Don and Mikey yelled, making Leo jump.

"Uh, I mean. Well, I don't think that I'm ready to go in there yet." Don said, him and Mikey exchanging a look.

"Yeah. To many memories in there." Mikey added with a quick wink to Don that Leo wouldn't notice. Don turned back to his pancakes and rolled his eyes.

"Well okay. Maybe we can start back after Christmas." Leo suggested.

"That's okay with me." Don said, plopping some pancakes onto a plate.

"Yup." Mikey said, pulling the plate near him. Leo nodded and patiently waited for his food.

"Mornin'." Raph said, entering and plopping down in a chair.

"Good morning Sunshine." Mikey said with his mouth full. Raph just rolled his eyes.

"Why are you up so early?" Leo asked Raph.

"You guys woke me up." Raph said with a shrug.

"Sorry," Don said, sitting a plate in front of Leo. Leo smiled and grabbed the syrup. Raph tapped his fingers as he waited.

"I heard that we're starting back on training. Good thing too, 'cause Mikey's been putting on a few pounds." Raph said with a smirk.

"Have not!" Mikey objected, his mouth full of pancakes. Don and Leo laughed. Raph tipped his chair back.

"Raph, you're going to fall back like you did after the first time Casey came over." Leo nagged. Raph rolled his eyes and continued tapping his fingers.

"Here you go," Don said, starting to put a plate of pancakes in front of Raph. Raph straightened his seat and prepared to dig in.

"Finally!" He said, licking his lips.

"Ah! What do you say?" Don asked, pulling back.

"Please?" Raph suggested, Don smiled and sat the plate down.

"And?" Don asked, a hand still on the plate.

"Thank you?" Raph aksed, annoyed with his brother.

"Good." Don said, going back to the stove to make his food. Mikey and Leo stifled a laugh. Raph rolled his eyes and ate his pancakes. Don finished cooking, put the pan in the sink, and turned off the stove.

He sat and ate. Leo and Mikey were already done and Mikey was off in the TV room playing video games.

"So who's doing the dishes?" Leo asked, Don immediatly pointed at Raph.

"Hey, my turn is over." Raph said, putting his hand in the air. Don sighed.

"I'll do it Leo." Don said, starting on his second pancake. Raph stood and put his plate in the sink.

"I'll be in the TV room with Mikey." Raph said, leaving. Leo and Don sat in silence.

"Hey Don, you okay?" Leo asked in older-brother mode.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Don asked, swallowing his last bite of pancake.

"Just, with the whole suggestion about training." Leo said, putting a hand on Don.

"Oh, it's okay. I just think that it'll be better to start back training in the spring." Don said, standing and dumping his plate in the sink. Don turned on the water and let it fill the sink.

"Okay, just making sure." Leo said, standing. Don smiled and turned back to the sink. His smile faded. He hoped that him and Mikey could find good gifts for Raph and Leo. All Don wanted to see right now was his big brothers smile.

_I should really get something for Raph, Mikey, and Don for Christmas._ Leo thought as he entered the TV room. He sat down on the couch and watched Mikey play Mario Kart.

"Hey Leo," Mikey said, not turning around.

"How'd you know it was me?" Leo asked. Mikey paused the game and tunred around.

"I know it wasn't Raph because he had feet as heavy as an elephant and I knew it wasn't Don because I could hear him in the kitchen washing dishes. That leaves one last turtle." Mikey said with a smile. Leo raised his eyebrows at his little brother.

"You suprise me with something new everyday Mikey, you know that?" Leo said. Mikey smiled and went back to his game.


	9. Chapter 8

"Come on Don! Don't be so slow!" Mikey said from the manhole.

"Well I'm sorry that I kept the slow part of the turtle!" Don said, out of breath. He climbed up to join Mikey topside, "Let's just hurry, okay?" He said, tightening his scarf. Mikey nodded.

"Which way is the dump?" Mikey asked, sneaking from the alley.

"That way. And don't call it a dump. Call it a, uh, well. Just call it a dump." Don said, climbing onto the roof.

"Why are we going onto the roof?" Mikey asked, following Don up the fire escape.

"We are going onto the roof because it's daytime and normal people will freak out if they see us." Don said, helping Mikey up.

"What about Casey." Mikey asked.

"Notice how I said _normal _people." Don said, running across the roof.

"Oh," Mikey said, running after his brother. Don lept across and landed safely on the other side, "Don, I'm scared." Mikey said, backing away from the edge.

"Come on, trust me." Don said with a smile. Mikey timidly nodded and got into a running stance. He took a big gulp and started running. At the edge, Mikey pushed off and waved his arms around. He did a flip as he landed and slid into Don's legs.

"That was awesome!" Mikey said, scrambling up and punching th air. Don slowly stood.

"See, I told you that you'd be okay." Don said with a crooked smile. Mikey smiled and lead the way. Soon, they arrived at their destination.

"What are we supposed to be looking for?" Mikey asked, crossing his arms.

"Uh, anything that Leo and Raph would like I guess." Don said, shrugging. They started walking around.

"Hey, how about this?" Mikey asked, holding up a pair of red boxing gloves.

"That's good. Raph would love that!" Don said, walking over. He inspected the gloves. They were a few scratches and breaking stitches, but nothing that Don couldn't fix, "Now what to get for Leo." Mikey put a hand on his chin and looked around. Something caught his eye.

"What's this?" He asked, picking up a box DVD set. He wiped dirt off it and looked at the title, "It says 'Season One and Two of Space Heroes." Mikey said slowly. Don looked at it.

"It looks interesting. I think Leo might like it." Don said, putting it under his arm.

"I saw some comercials for it before. I think the show is still running." Mikey said, as they made their way home, "Um, how are we going to sneak this in?" They jumped down and removed the right manhole cover.

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there." Don said, climbing down. Mikey pulled the cover over. They started running through the water. Just hearing the splashing made Donnie uneasy. He bit his lip and squezed his eyes shut, pushing away the images he knew would come.

"Don, you okay?" Mikey asked, looking over. Don opened his eyes and slowed down.

"Yeah. Uh, come on, let's get this stuff inside." Don said, looking into the lair. No one was in sight so they made a mad dash to the dojo. They dumped the gifts on the ground and snuck out, "We'll wrap them tonight when their asleep." Don said, as they went back into the TV room.

"Roger." Mikey said, salutting him. Don rolled his eyes and plopped down onto the couch. Mikey sat in front of the TV and turned on the wii that Don fixed up for them.

"Oh, hey guys. Where were you?" Leo asked, entering.

"Um, right here." Don said winking at Mikey. Mikey laughed.

"Uh, okay." Leo said, sitting down. Raph walked in and sat down with his brothers.

"Well look who's out of his room." Don said with a smile.

"Yeah yeah." Raph said, rolling his eyes. Don picked up a book and started reading. Raph got a magizine that Casey brought for him and started looking at it. Mikey turned back around and started the game back. Leo stood.

"Where you going?" Don asked, looking up from his book.

"Uh, just to my room." Leo said, walking down the hallway. Everyone went back to what they were doing. He grabbed a coat and scarf from his room. Then Leo made sure they weren't looking and left the lair the back way.

_What would Don, Mikey, and Raph like? _He asked himself as he made his way through the sewer. He got to a manhole cover and started removing it very carefully. Slowly, he climbed out.

_Hopefully, no one will know that I've been up here. _He thought as he got on top of a roof. In a trash can, he found a broken laptop.

Don might like to fix this up.

He found some old art supplies and put it under his arm also. Finally, he picked out a few old tattered comic books for Raph. He looked around and saw people walking around on the street.

"Humans." Leo said, sneaking to the edge of the roof and watching them walk by. He spotted Casey, _Great._ He thought. Casey was walking with three other people.

"Hey Leo!" Casey yelled, waving. Leo backed away fromt the roof. He mentally slapped his forehead. Leo heard something from the fire escape. Before he could move, Casey's head popped up, "Why didn't you answer man?" Casey asked, helping three other people up.

"Woah, you were right Casey!" A fat kid said, walking over to Leo.

"It's actually a human sized turtle." A red haired girl said. Leo stood.

"Can you talk turtle?" A darker haired girl asked, she had red lines around her eyes. Leo blushed. She was kind of cute.

"Casey! You weren't supposed to tell anybody!" Leo yelled, walking to Casey. The three other people's jaws dropped.

"Hi! I'm Timothy!" The fat kid said, sticking his hand out to Leo. Leo slowly shook his hand.

"Hi, I'm Leonardo." Leo said.

"Let em guess, your last name is Da Vinchi?" The dark haired girl asked.

"No, it's just Leonardo." Leo said, blushing a little.

"I'm April." April said, waving. Leo smiled and waved. April seemed to be the most normal person here, "That's Karai." April motioned to her. Karai waved her hand.

"Casey said that you guys have a lair." Timothy said enthusiasticly. Leo shot Casey a glance.

"Can we see it?" April asked. Timothy got on his knees and begged. Leo sighed.

"Fine, but just for a second." Leo ordered. Tim punched the air and April cheered. Karai just shrugged. Leo lead the way. He got to the manhole and opened it.

"The sewer?" Karai asked.

"Scared to get your hair dirty Karai?" Casey asked, as he climbed down. Karai grumbled as she followed. April hesitated before she got down. Tim jumped down and landed on Casey.

"Get off me dude!" Casey yelled. Timothy finally stood.

"Heh, sorry." Tim said with a shrug. Leo rolled his eyes and embarked home. When they got close to the lair, Leo turned to them.

"Go on in, I'll be there in a sec." Leo said, going in the back way. Casey shrugged and entered. Leo snuck into his rooma nd hid the gifts under his bed.

"Hey Casey." Raph said, not looking up. He heard more than one person. He dropped his magazine and examined the others.

"This place is AWESOME!" Timothy yelled, running around to all the games. April smiled as she looked around.

"Tim, stop running!" April yelled, her hands on her hips. He stopped and went over to Mikey.

"Woah! Another human!" Mikey yelled, standing.

"Cool, another turtle!" Tim yelled, looking into Mikey's baby blue eyes.

"Okay, so this is Timothy, April, and Karai." Casey said, motioning towards everyone. They all waved except Karai.

"I'm Michelangelo, and this is Raphael, Donatello, and Leonardo." Mikey said as Leo entered the room. Don looked up from his book. His eyes fell on April. He blushed.

"Wait, like those artists?" April asked. Raph sighed.

"Yes, like the artists. Geez." Raph said, tuning back to his magazine.

"Why do you guys wear masks? I mean, it's not like it's some kind of disquise or anything." Karai asked, leaning against the wall.

"I don't know really." Leo said with a shrug, "We are trained a little bit in ninjitstu and I guess ninjas wear masks."

"We're ninjas!" Mikey said, striking a pose.

"Oh really? I'm a kunoichi." Karai said with a smile. Leo smiled at her. She tuned and they made eye contact. Leo quickly turned away, his face red. Don walked over to April.

"Hi, I'm Don." He said with a weak smile. He stuck his hand out. April smiled.

"I'm April." She said, shaking his hand. Don blushed a little.

"Casey told us that you've guys have been down here your whole lives." April said. Don lead her to the couch.

"All ten years." Don said with a tiny laugh. April smiled at him.

"Where's your front tooth?" April asked, her smile fading. Don's smiled disappeared. He straightened, images floating in his head.

"It, uh, never grew back." Don lied. April nodded.

"I bet I could beat you at Mario Kart." Tim said to Mikey. Mikey sat down in front of the TV.

"You're on." Mikey said, handing him a remote.

"So Karai, you know ninjitstu?" Leo asked, trying to act cool.

"Yup." She said with a smirk, "I bet I'm better then you."

"No way." Leo said, leaning against the wall next to her.

"Only one way to find out." She said getting into a fighting stance. Leo smiled and followed her lead.

"And why did you bring all these people?" Raph asked Casey. Casey picked up a magazine.

"I couldn't help it." Casey said.

"Let me guess. You couldn't keep your big mouth shut." Raph commented. Casey put the magazine down.

"Of course I couldnt'! I mean, I know four giant talking turtles! How _couldn't _I tell somebody?!" Casey exclaimed. Raph smiled.

"I guess that they're your closest friends from school?"

"Yeah, kinda. April and I have been friends forever, I'm in the same homeroom as Tim, and, don't tell nobody I said this, but I'm kinda scared of Karai." Casey said. Raph started laughing, "Don't tell nodody!"

"Yeah, got it scaredy cat." Raph said, picking his magazine back up. Casey sat back in his seat and started staring at the pictures in a magizine.

**I finally got to do a chapter like this! I hope you like this fanfic so far! More coming soon!**


	10. Chapter 9

Don was about to wake up Mikey so they could start wrapping the gifts, but he heard something from the other room.

Raph's POV

_"Raph! Help!" I heard Donnie yell. I looked around. All I saw was black._

_"Donnie? Where are you?" I yelled back, seeing my breath. I shuddered._

_"Raph! Help me!" I heard Mikey yell. I looked around again. I still saw nothing. I went to move my feet. They wouldn't move an inch._

_"Raph! We need you!" Leo yelled. Tears welled up in my eyes._

_"I-I can't! I can't move!" I yelled, looking around and around. An image began to form. I was in the sewer. I could hear the rushing water._

_"Raphael!" I straightened. A tear fell down my face._

_"Dad?!" I yelled, trying to find him. I'd give anything to see him right now. Finally, I saw him. I was going to run to him, but my feet still wouldn't move._

_"Dad! Dad!" I screamed, more tears rolling down my face. My heart was in my throat. I smiled and reached for him. Then, I saw Donnie, Leo, and Mikey standing next to him. The four of them turned around._

_"W-what are you doing?" I asked, trying to go over to them. They started to move towards the water. And the crumbly rocks._

_"We're just looking at the water Raph. Don't worry so much." Mikey said with a smile. They all took each other's hands. Don took one more step forward. My heart sunk to somewhere in my feet. The ground gave. I didn't want to see Dad like this._

_"Raph! Help!" Don screamed. I grabbed my legs and tried to pull them. They wouldn't budge._

_"I-I'm trying." I yelled, my voice breaking. I bit my lip and yanked at my legs, begging that they would move. I didn't dare look up because I didn't want to see them die._

_"Help us!" Mikey yelled. I looked up. They were nearing the waterfall. I grit my teeth and struggled to get free. Tears were blurring my vision._

_"Don! Mikey! I'm coming!" I yelled, my voice shakey. My feet finally started moving but they were as heavy as cinder blocks._

_"Raph! Raph! We're falling!" Leo yelled. I looked up in time to see my big brother's terrified face. I kept struggling to move to them._

_"Leo!" I screamed as he fell over the edge first. I pulled at my feet, moving inch by inch. I had to save them. I am the protector. I am supposed to save them._

_"Raph! Help us!" Don and Mikey screamed as they neared the edge. I couldn't look. I couldn't watch my baby brothers die. I have to save them._

_"Hang on! I-I'm trying!" I yelled, moving faster. I was halfway there. They got to the edge. I cringed, hearing them screaming my name over and over. I fell to my knees, shaking. Tears rolled down my face and fell onto the concrete._

_"Raphael!" I heard splinter yell. I bit my lip as I looked up. With my blurry vision, I could see Dad thrashing around in the water._

_"D-dad!" I yelled, getting on my hands and knees. I heard him scream as he fell._

_"You're such a wimp! You could've saved them!" I heard my own voice yell. I covered my ears as I sobbed hard._

_"Why couldn't you save them Raph? Huh? why?" My voice yelled._

_"Stop. Please stop." I pleaded, curling into a ball. I was choking on my sobs._

_"They are dead because of YOU!" MY voice kept on. I grit my teeth and shot up._

_"SHUT UP!" I screamed. I couldn't take it. This was all just to much._

_"Leave me alone!" I screamed, falling to my knees again. I stared up at the ceiling with my tear blurred vision._

_"Why? Why did it have to be ME!" I yelled, my voice raising at the end. I held my head and lay down._

_"Just stop. Please!" I pleaded, fog surrounding me. I started shaking bad._

_"Stop," I said one last time._

Normal POV

"R-raph?" Don asked, peeing into Raph's room.

"I-is he having a nightmare?" Mikey asked Leo. Leo stared at Raph.

"I think so. We need to wake him up." Leo said, opening the door all the way. Raph was curled into a ball in his hamock. Leo stepped forward and saw tears falling form Raph's eyes.

"Raph!" Leo yelled, shaking him. Mikey held onto his teddy bear tight as he watched another one of his big brothers have a nightmare. He turned away and hugged Don.

"Raph, please wake up!" Leo said, his voice shaking a bit. Raph was shivering severly. Raph's eyes finally fluttered open. He spotted his three brothers.

"Leo! Don't ever leave!" Raph yelled, wrapping his arms around his big brother. Tears poured from his eyes.

"Donnie! Mikey!" Raph yelled, getting up and hugging his two little brothers. Don and Mikey gave a very confused look. Raph finally realized what he was doing and released them.

"S-sorry guys." Raph said, backing away. He sat down on the ground and turned away.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked, sitting down next to Raph. Raph bit his lip and turned away. He didn't answer. Don and Mikey sat down next to their red big brother.

Raph finally shook his head and turned around. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He buried his face in Leo's shoulder and cried. Leo put his hand on the back of Raph's head. Don and Mikey leaned up against Raph. Mikey handed Raph his teddy.

"T-thanks Mikey." Raph softly said, holding the bear. Mikey wrapped his arms around Raph. They all sat there in a big hug. Slowly, each of them drifted off to sleep.

Mikey snorted awake. He squirmed out of his brother's grasp and started towards the dojo. It was only 5 in the morning and his brothers wouldn't get up for another hour or so. Silently, he put a coat on and climbed up onto the surface.

"What to get for Don. What to get for Don." He asked himself as he got onto the roof. He started walking around, thinking hard.

"Hey Mikey!" Came a loud voice behind him. Mikey jumped and spun around.

"Tim! Don't do that!" Mikey yelled, walking over.

"Sorry, I just saw you up here. Why _are _you up here?" Tim asked, wrapping a scarf around his neck.

"I need to find a Christmas gift for Donnie." Mikey said, "Wanna help?" Tim's face lit up.

"Of course!" Tim said, "What does Donnie boy like?" He asked, placing a hand on his chin.

"Technology and all that smart stuff. He likes books too." Mikey said, sitting down. Tim nodded.

"There's a bunch of old school text books in my room. I could get those for you." Tim said, nodding towards the fire escape.

"That would be great! Thanks!" Mikey siad, "It won't be to much trouble will it?"

"Nope, I live right under your feet Mikey my man." Tim said, going to the fire escape. Mikey waited as Tim got the books.

"H-here you go." Tim said, out of breath. He handed Mikey a stack of about four giant text books. "They're my older brother's. They're high school text books though and don't have many pictures." Mikey smiled.

"Thanks! Well, I better go before they wake up." Mikey said, leaving, "Why were you up anyway?"

"I heard something and came up to investigate." Tim said with a huge smile.

_I think me and my brothers have a stalker. _Mikey thought as he carefully climbed into the sewer. He adjusted the books and slowly walked in silence. Once he got to the lair, he quickly ran to his room and stuffed the presents under his bed.

Mikey made his way to the kitchen and looked in the cabnits for some pancake batter. They were out.

"Morning Mikey." Leo said, walking in.

"Hey Leo, we need pancake batter." Mikey said, sitting down at the table.

"Let's go get some before Donnie and Raph get up." Leo said with a wink. Mikey smiled and got his coat. Leo got Raph's coat and waited for Mikey at the exit.

"Ready?" Leo asked.

"Ready." Mikey said. They embarked to the surface.

"Raph? You awake?" Don asked, poking his older brother.

"I am now." Raph said, turning to face Don. He was still holding the bear.

"The bear?" Donnie asked, trying not to laugh. Raph looked down and saw thhe bear in his hands. He quickly threw it towards the door.

"Shut up." He said, standing. Don left the room. Raph made sure Don was gone then picked up the bear and carfully sat it on his hamock.

"Leo and Mikey aren't here." Don said, looking around.

"Well they have to be here somewhere." Raph said, helping Don look around.

"R-raph, what it-" Don said, starting to tear up.

"No, nothing happened okay?" Raph said, looking Don in the eyes. Don wiped his eyes and nodded.

"Okay." Don said softly, staring at the ground, "Do you think they went to the surface?" Don looked at Raph.

"Maybe." Raph said, sitting down on the couch.

"B-but what if-" Don asked, starting to shake.

"Don't think about that." Raph said, putting an arm around Don. Don rested his head on his big brother's shoulder, "Let's just chill and wait for them to come." Don nodded.

"Okay."

"How do you plan on getting the pancake batter?" Mikey asked, looking over at his eldest brother.

"A secret weapon." Leo said, looking over his shoulder. Karai stood there with an evil smile.

"Can I go?" Karai asked, nearing the edge of the roof.

"You'd better pay." Leo said, handing her a few dollar bills.

"Yeah yeah." She said, leaping off.

"Why her?" Mikey asked in a loud whisper.

"Because." Leo answered, watching her enter the store. Mikey gave an evil smile.

"You _liiiiiike _her!" Mikey mocked. Leo blushed.

"Do not!" He protested.

"Then why didn't you get Casey? Or April? Or even Timothy?" Mikey asked. Leo opened his mouth to answer but no words were said. Leo turned away, mumbling somthing under his breath.

"Here." Karai said, shoving a big box of pancake batter in Leo's chest.

"T-thanks Karai." Leo said, his face getting hot. Mikey started laughing quietly.

"Bye!" Karai said, back flipping off thhe roof. Leo smiled like an idiot. Mikey laughed more.

"C-come on Mikey." Leo said, snapping out off it. They started running towards home. Leo ushered Mikey down the manhole and softly closed it. They splashed through the water.

"'Bout time you got back." Raph said. Don looked up. He was still leaning against Raph, "Told ya Don!" Don jumped up and ran to Leo and Mikey.

"Leo! Mikey!" Don said, giving his brothers a hug.

"Nice to see you too Don." Leo said, trying to get out of the hug.

"Sorry. I just didn't know where you guys were and-" Don said, releasing and staring at the ground.

"It's okay Donnie. We just left to get more pancake batter." Leo siad, putting his hand on Don's shoulder. Don smiled.

"Time for pancakes!" Mikey yelled, taking the box and running to the kitchen. Raph shot up and ran after him.

"You shouldn't worry so much about stuff like that." Leo whispered as he and Don started walking to the kitchen.

"S-sorry." Don said, messing with his mask tails.

"Donnie," Leo said, stopping and facing Don, "Stop saying sorry so much." Don looked at his eldest brother.

"Sor- I mean, I'll try. It just feels like it's always my fault." Don said, looking away again.

"Just forget about it. Let's just have some pancakes." Leo said as they entered the kitchen.

"Hurry up and fix the pancakes!" Raph said, sitting at the table.

"Raph, you know you can't rush perfection." Mikey said, flipping a chocolate chip pancake.

"Uhg!" Raph said, laying his head back. Leo and Don sat down. Don put his head down on the table.

"Is Don okay?" Mikey asked in a whisper.

"I'm fine Mikey." Don said, looking up. Mikey put his hands up and turned back to cooking. He fixed a palte and sat it in front of Don.

"Thanks Mikey." Don said, grabbing the syrup.

"What about me?" Raph asked, "I was here first!"

"You're wining so you get pancakes past." Mikey said with a smirk. Raph folded his arms and slumped down in his seat. Leo was the next to get his food.

"Thank you Mikey." Leo said, cutting up his pancakes. Mikey finally fixed a plate for him and Raph and turned off the stove.

"I guess that you get pancakes next." Mikey said, setting a plate in front of Raph, "Now what do you say?"

"Thanks." Raph said, his mouth already full. Mikey nodded and ate his breakfast.

**This chapter was kind of long. :) I hope you like the fanfic! More should be up soon!**


	11. Chapter 10

Raph snuck away from the TV room and left to his room. He pulled art supplies from under his bed and started making Christmas cards for his brothers. Raph was actually a really good artist (even better then Mikey) and he didn't tell anybody because he didn't want to be laughed at.

"Hey Spike. Wanna help?" Raph asked, turning to look at Spike, "Chew on your leaf if you want to." The little turtle paused, then bent his head down and took a big bite of his green leaf, "I thought so." Raph picked him up and sat him beside him.

"Raph? What are you doing in there?" Don asked, knocking on Raph's bedroom door.

"Don't come in! I'm, uh, dressing!" Raph yelled, pushing the art supplies away.

"Raph, we don't wear clothes." Don said. Raph sighed.

"I'm doing something! Don't come in!" Raph yelled, getting irritated.

"Fine." Don said, turning and leaving. Raph turned back to Spike.

"That was close. Come on, let's get back to work." Raph said to Spike.

_I should make something for everyone. _Don thought as he walked to the garage that doubled as his lab. He sat down at his desk and rested his head in his hands.

"What's something that we all would like and that we'll use everyday?" Don asked nobody. He tapped his finger on his desktop. He heard arguing in the other room. _Well, Leo and Raph are at it again. We need better comunication in this family._ Don thought. He paused and sat straight up.

"Comunication! That's it!" He exclaimed, drawing some blueprints.

"Hey Donnie!" A voice said loudly behind Don. Don jumped and nearly fell out of his chair. He spun around and hid the blueprints.

"Mikey! Stop doing that!" Don yelled, standing up, "What do you want?"

"Well, Leo and Raph were arguing and I just had to get away." Mikey said, rubbing his foot around on the ground. Don sighed.

"What were thay arguing about this time?" Don asked, sittting down and pulling a stool up for Mikey.

" I don't know. Something about Leo wanting to know what Raph was doing and Raph yelling at him about how he's not the boss of him. The usual." Mikey said, "I want them to stop fighting Donnie. I really do." Mikey looked up at Don with teary eyes. Don put a hand on Mikey's shoulder. He wasn't very good at this whole 'big brother' thing. Usually, if Mikey wasn't feeling good, they'd go to Leo for comfort, but right now they couldn't.

"I know Mikey." Don said, trying to sound encouraging. He gave an unconvinsing smile, "Uh, let's go wrap the presents." Mikey nodded and followed Don into the dojo. Luckily, Leo and Raph were arguing in Raph's room.

"I can't beleve that tomorrow's Christmas!" Mikey said, grabbing a bunch of tape.

"I know!" Don said, holding the newspaper down with his foot as he taped it.

"I can't wait to see Leo and Raph happy!" Mikey said, pulling way to much tape off. Don smiled. He was glad that Mikey wasn't self centered.

"Here, I'll wrap and you can start decorating the tree." Don said, seeing Mikey tangled up in tape. Mikey nodded and stood. Don went back to wrapping.

"Don?" Mikey asked after a little bit.

"Yeah Mikey?" Don asked, standing and looking back at the wrapped presents.

"What if Leo and Raph don't like their gifts. I mean, we did get them from the dump." Mikey said, making ornaments and hanging them on the tree.

"Don't worry Mikey, they'll like it." Don said with a smile. Mikey nodded and went back to decorating.

Leo sighed and left Raph's room. Raph shut his door and took a deep breath.

"I know Spike. I need to stop arguing like that." Raph said, sitting down. He went back to making the cards, saving Leo's for last so he could have time to get over his grudge.

Leo walked into his room and grabbed a pillow. He stuffed his face in it and yelled. He put the pillow back and collasped onto his bed.

"Why do we argue like that?!" He asked the ceiling. He rolled over and hung his arm over the side of the bed. Leo's hand brushed against one of his brother's presents.

_I almost forgot about these. _Leo thought as he pulled them out. He peered around his room, looking for something to wrap them with. He snuck out of his room and found some old newsapers and started wrapping.

"Finished!" Don and Mikey said, looking back at he presents and the tree. Don left to his lab to work on his gifts to everyone.

"Finished." Raph said. He stood and looked at the cards he made.

"Finished." Leo said, looking at his work. He smiled and put them back under his bed. He was going to sneak into the TV room tonight and set them in there.

A little past 1:00 A.M. 

"Finally. I'm finished." Don said, his eyes drifting shut. He snorted awake and grabbed the presents in his arms. Quietly, he tiptoed into the TV room and gently sat the gifts down. Then, he went into Mikey's room.

"Wha-?" Mikey asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

"Let's put Raph and Leo's gifts and the tree in the TV room." Don whispered. Mikey's eyes shot wide open and he practicly ran to the dojo.

"I'll get the tree, you get the presents." Don said, dragging the tree in first. Mikey followed and carefully sat the gifts down.

"To bad we couldn't find any lights." Mikey said, stepping back. He yawned and went back to his room. Don stood there a little longer and stared at the tree. He noticed more gifts under the tree other then his or him and Mikey's. He also saw a few cards. Don just shrugged and went to his room to finally get some sleep.

Christmas morning

"Wake up Leo! It's Christmas!" Mikey said, jumping on Leo's bed with Don.

"What are you two doing?" Leo asked, sitting up.

"We're waking you up. Duh!" Don answered, leaping off the bed. Mikey did a flip off and pulled Leo out.

"Come on!" Mikey said with a huge smile. Leo smiled at his baby brother and followed him.

"Wait here while I get Raph." Don said, running off to Raph's room.

"Raph, wake up. It's Christmas!" Don said, shaking his red brother.

"Five more minutes!" Raph said, turning over.

"Oh come on!" Don said, starting to jump on the bed.

"Uhg! Fine, I'm up." Raph said, pulling the covers off of him and pushing off the bed. Don smiled and lead Raph into Leo's room.

"What's going on?" Raph asked Don and Mikey. Don and Mikey just smiled. Leo shrugged.

"Just come with us!" Mikey said, grabbing Leo's hand and pulling him into the TV room. Don wasn't going to hold Raph's hand so he got behing Raph and started pushing him. They got to the end of the hallway.

"Now close your eyes and don't open until we say so!" Don siad, pushing away bad memories about the last time he said those words. Leo laughed and closed his eyes, as did Raph. Don and Mikey ran to the tree and stood in front of it.

"Now open your eyes!" Mikey said. Leo and Raph obeyed. Mikey and Don stepped away.

"Ta-daa!" They said, smiling huge. Leo gasped and Raph just stared at the tree with his jaw dropped.

"Merry Christmas!" Don said.

"How did you get that down here?!" Leo asked, walking up to the tree.

"We got it from the surface and dragged it down here." Mikey answered.

"And trust us, it wasn't easy." Don said, his hands behind his back.

"This is awesome guys!" Raph said, giving his little brothers a hug.

"And it gets better!" Mikey said, grabbing Raph and Leo's gifts.

"Thanks guys. I have something for you too." Leo said, grabbing his presents to everybody. Raph smiled and pulled out his cards. Everybody stared at their three gifts from each other.

"Come on! Let's open them!" Mikey said, plopping down on the ground and ripping open Leo's gift to him, "Art supplies! Awesome! Thanks Leo!" Leo nodded and looked at his present from Mikey and Don.

"A Space Heroes box set?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, we found that and we knes that you talked about that show before so we thought that you'd like it." Don said with a smile.

"I can't wait to start watching it! Thanks you guys!" Leo said, reading the card. Don looked down at his gift from Leo and slowly opened it.

"A laptop!" Don said, holding it up.

"It's kind of broken." Leo said. Don smiled bigger.

"Even better! I needed something to fix! Thank you so much Leo!" Don said, opening it up and inspecting it. Raph opened his gift from Leo.

"New comics!" Raph said flipping through them, "I needed new ones! I had the old ones practicly memorized. Thanks!" Leo smiled and nodded.

"Here Raph, open the one from me and Donnie!" Mikey said, picking up said gift and handing it over. Raph ripped it open, "Cool, boxing gloves!" Raph said, slipping them on his three fingered hands, "Thanks guys." Mikey and Don beamed. Leo, Don, and Mikey picked up their cards from Raph and read them.

"You're a pretty good artist Raph!" Don said, staring at a picture on his card. Raph gave a sideways smile.

"You're better then me!" Mikey exclaimed. Raph blushed.

"T-thanks Mikey." Raph said, rubbing the back of his head.

"These are amazing Raph, thank you." Leo said. Raph smiled at him.

"Okay, now you open the gifts from _me_," Don said, pushing the gifts towards them. They looked at them for a little bit them started opening them.

"They're cell phones!" Leo said, pulling a shell shaped cell phone from the newspaper.

"I call them T-phones!" Don said, holding his own up. Mikey stared at his in awe.

"Donnie, have I ever told you how awesome you are?" Raph asked, messing with his T-phone.

"No, no you haven't." Don said.

"Well, I am SERIOUSLY considering it." Raph responded. Don laughed.

"This is the best Christmas ever!" Mikey exclaimed, punching the air. His stomach growled, "Pancakes anyone?" They all ran to the kitchen and waited while Mikey fixed their breakfast.

**I hope you liked this chapter! Please review! More coming soon!**


	12. Chapter 11

After breakfast, Raph went into the TV room and read his new comics. Leo sat right in front of the TV and watched Space Heroes. He was really getting into the show.

"Leo, I've been sitting here for about five minutes now and I already know that this show is stupid." Raph commented.

"It's a really good show. And besides, it's probably just a fad. I'll probably be over Space Heroes within a week or two." Leo said, turning back around. Raph rolled his eyes and went back to his comic book.

Don retreated to his lab to start fixing his new laptop.

"Hey Donnie." Mikey said, looking over his brother's shoulder.

"What do you want Mikey?" Don asked, twirling around.

"I just wanted to say thanks." Mikey said, giving Don a big hug.

"For?"

"An awesome Christmas. The tree and the T-phones that I should've named. And for being there for me." Mikey said, letting go and stepping back.

"You're welcome, but the tree and planning this was all you. I just helped drag it down here." Don said. Mikey smiled at him and pulled up a stool.

"So how's the laptop fixing ting going?" Mikey asked, setting his head on Don's arm.

"It's going good. I just need to get some parts from the dump, find a good battery, and grab some duct tape to fix it up. Then once it's up, I'll have to reset the whole thing and I'll have to hack into a close by internet connection. Then, I will be done." Don said. Mikey was almost cross-eyed in deep thought.

"Um." Mikey said. Don sighed.

"It's going good Mikey." Don simplified. Mikey smiled and gave a thumbs up, "How's your art supplies and everything?"

"Awesome! I'm drawing a picture of all of us in front of the tree and with Santa hats on!" Mikey exclaimed, holding a half colored picture in front of Don's face. It was the spitting image of all of them.

"That's really good Mikey. You really have a talent." Don said. Mikey looked down at the picture.

"Not as good as Raph though. I didn't even know he knew _how _to draw."

"You'll get better and better though. Just be patient. One day, you'll be painting murals on ceilings!" Don joked. Mikey didn't get it. Don sighed and turned back to his laptop. Mikey left and went to his room. A few hours passed.

"Hey guys!" Raph called around 4:00 p.m., "I have another Christmas present for you guys!" Leo, Don, and Mikey rushed into the kitchen where Raph stood.

"What is it?" Mikey asked, looking around.

"Pizza!" Raph said, holding a steaming box in front of him.

"Is that the stuff you told us about?" Leo asked, looking at the pepperoni pizza.

"Yup! You gotta try this stuff!" Raph said, grabbing a slice, "It's awesome." He said with his mouth full. Mikey was the first of the three to get a slice. He took a bit and his eyes widened. Don and Leo attacked the pizza, trying to t a slice before none was left.

"Wow Raph! You were right!" Leo said, already on his second slice.

"This is the best thing I've ever tasted!" Don said, his mouth full. Raph nodded and bowed in his seat.

"Oh, we can start training now." Mikey said, licking his fingers.

"I thought you wanted to wait until spring. Because there were too many memories in there." Leo said, looking at Mikey and Donnie.

"That was just a cover because we were hiding the tree in there and didn't want anybody to know." Mikey answered without thinking. Don kicked Mike in the leg.

"Is that true Don?" Leo demanded, giving Don a less intense version of his stare. Don slumped down in his seat.

"Maybe." Don mumbled, twiddling his thumbs.

"You two lied to me. You really lied to me." Leo said. Mikey shifted position.

"Well you lied to us!" Mikey protested, "You said that Daddy would come back! A-and you said soon!" Don slumped further down in his seat, he just wanted to disappear.

"What was I supposed to say?!" Leo demanded, standing up.

"At least our lie was a good one! It was supposed be a surprise so you'd be happy! That's all me and Donnie wanted!" Mikey yelled, standing up too.

"Mikey, please leave me out of this." Don said, barely visible.

"Mine was supposed to lift your spirits!" Leo yelled. Don covered his ears.

"Well it didn't work! All I wanted to do was make you and Raph happy! I should take back your gifts because, now that I think about it, you guys don't even deserve it! You guys are always fighting, making me go to Don for comfort! I know Don feels the same way! We're the little bothers and you guys are _supposed_ to be the big brothers! You two are supposed to take care of us when we're sad! But we can't go to you because YOU'RE THE PROBLEM!" Mikey yelled, he started crying and stormed off to his room.

Don was now on the ground in a ball, crying. Leo still stood dumbfounded at his youngest little brother's speech about how bad of a big brother he was. Leo started tearing up and left to his room. Raph was the only one left at the table, with Don sitting underneath.

"Donnie? You okay?" Raph asked, peering under the table. Don looked up at Raph with teary brown eyes.

"What do you think?" Don snapped, pulling himself back into his chair. He laid his head down and kept on crying.

"I-I'm sorry." Raph said, putting a hand on Don's shell. Don scooted away.

"I don't care." Don said, getting up and going into his room. Raph sat there and wondered what and how this just happened.

Don heard a knock at his door. He just turned away and faced the wall. The door creaked open.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked, walking in. His voice was shaky.

"What Mikey?! What do you want this time?!" Don snapped, turning around and facing his little brother. Both of them had tear stains on their cheeks. Mikey stepped back and stared at the ground.

"Never mind." Mikey said in a whisper. Slowly, he sat the text books for Don on the ground. They were wrapped in a little red bow. He closed the door after he left and sat there in front of the door, "I'm sorry." Mikey whispered, burying his face in hi teddy bear. Raph was walking by and saw Mikey on the ground.

"Mikey? What are you doing outside of Don's room?" Raph asked, getting down on one knee. Mikey just stood and walked away to his room.

"Why did this have to be on Christmas? Why?" Raph asked as he walked to his room. He heard Mikey's door slam shut.

"Mikey was right though." Raph said, looking over at Spike. Raph rested his head on Spike's table, "I really need to stop arguing. Not just for me but for Mikey and Donnie." Raph told Spike. Spike just chewed on his leaf.

"Starting tomorrow, there will be NO arguing for me. How does that sound Spike?" Raph asked, standing upright. Spike looked up at Raph then went back to his leaf.

"Leo said on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He sighed and lay down.

"I'm a horrible big brother." He said, covering his face with his hands. He took a deep breath and sat back up.

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to be a better brother and be there for Donnie and Mikey. No more arguing." Leo said with a determined look. He nodded and lay down, pulling his covers over his head. He turned off his lamp and fell asleep.

**Sorry I couldn't update sooner. I've had to work (blech) and my computer was being stupid and wasn't let me on the internet. Oh, and also I've been writing my new fanfic and forgot about this one :P**


	13. Chapter 12

"Come on guys. Wake up. Time for training!" Leo said, walking up and down the hallway banging a metal pot with a wooden spoon. Everyone groaned and tried going back to sleep. They failed, so they all got up and slowly met Leo in the kitchen.

"I don't wanna train!" Mikey wined, banging his head on the table. Don laid his head in his hands and only had one eye open. Raph just had his head on the table and tried his best not to yell at Leo about how ridiculous this all was. Mikey got up and handed everyone a granola bar. They ate as they trudged to the dojo.

Raph mumbled curses at Leo as they stretched. Mikey was close to Raph and learned a lot of new curses that day. Donnie struggled to perform the stretches, especially since he hadn't stretched in a while. Raph lazily stretched.

"Raph, you need a better form." Leo said. Dozens of good comebacks popped into Raph's head but he just kept his mouth shut. After hours of training, and Mikey complaining, Leo released them. Mikey collapsed onto the couch and groaned.

"Have I mentioned how much I HATE training?" Mikey asked, laying his head back.

"Only a few hundred times." Don said, falling asleep. Raph trudged in and sat down.

"Well, you've been quiet today." Mikey pointed out, scooting over next to Raph. Raph crossed his arms and slumped down.

"Yeah, and?" Raph asked a little too sternly. Mikey held his hands up in defense and scooted back. Raph stood and walked into the kitchen where Leo sat. He grabbed a soda and opened it, not turning around.

"What's up with you today?" Leo asked casually. Raph spun around. He opened his mouth to start a fight but stormed off to his room. Leo just shrugged.

"Why is this so hard?!" Raph asked, sitting down, "How about I just don't fight _this _week then next week and so on, I can just fight quietly." Raph suggested to himself. He sat back up and started taking his bottled up anger on his punching bag.

Leo and Raph managed to get through the rest of the week without fighting (well, at least not in front of Donnie and Mikey). They got more and more used to not having a father and were getting better at taking care of themselves. Mikey mastered the art of cooking, but most of the time, he just ordered pizza for Casey to pick up and bring over. Donnie, of course, kept inventing and updated their T-phones when he had the time. Or when Mikey of Raph broke theirs (they found out that the T-phones could self-destruct). Raph still had anger issues but tried to keep it under control for his little brothers. Leo got really into and continued watching Space Heroes (to Raph's dismay). Don now regrets giving Leo that box set.

Years passed. Five years to be exact.

"Happy Mutation Day!" Mikey exclaimed, holding out a pizza-like cake (It only looked like one. It would've tasted like one too, but that was one vote against three).

"Happy Mutation Day!" The other turtles yelled. Mikey sat the cake down and they dug in.

"Best cake ever Mikey." Don said, his mouth full.

"Happy Mutation Day guys." April said, walking in with Casey. Don scowled at Casey. Casey ruffled Mikey's non-existent hair.

"Sup dudes!" Timothy yelled, running in. He plopped down in a seat next to Don.

"Hey Tim," Don said, rolling his eyes.

"Don't call me Timothy anymore. Call me 'The Pulverizer'!" Tim said, standing up and failing at looking heroic. Everyone rolled their eyes. Tim put a red mask around his eyes, "How do I look?"

"Like a dork." Raph answered.

"Oh you," Tim said, "I've always wanted to be heroes and since you guys are heroes, because you know, the whole thing with Karai and the kitchen utensil. Also, the mask would've been green, but I could only find a red cloth and I'm broke and all."

"Tell us the story about how you were mutated again." Casey said, lounging back in a chair.

"You've already heard it like five times." Don said, pointing his fork at Casey.

"I'd like to hear it again too." April said, sitting down and resting her head in her hands.

"O-okay," Don said, looking love struck. Casey rolled his eyes and Mikey gave a disgusted face.

"I'll tell it this time," Leo said, taking a deep breath, "Well, this day, fifteen years ago, out father was taking us home from the pet store. At the time, we were normal turtles. As out father walked home, he noticed some strange people. He followed them and they attacked him, spilling strand ooze all over him and us. And that is how we got how we are today." Leo finished.

"I don't like the ending." Casey said. Raph punched him.

"It's horrible about what happened to your dad." April said. Don and Mikey's smiles faded and they stared at the ground. Raph looked away and Leo just shrugged, "Sorry I brought it up."

"I-it's okay. We're fine." Leo said with a weak smile.

"Well okay." April said, looking at her watch, "Casey! Tim! We gotta get to school!" She dragged said idiots out of the room, "Tim, get that thing off." The turtles heard her yell.

"I'm going to go watch Space Heroes." Leo said, leaving the room. Raph stood and left too.

"I'll be training." Raph said before he left. Don and Mikey were the only two left.

"This reminds me of when we were ten. You know, Leo and Raph leaving the room and leaving us alone." Mikey pointed out. Don nodded.

"You okay?" Don asked Mikey. Mikey looked up and nodded.

"You?" Mikey asked back. Don slowly nodded.

"Yeah, but I think I'll go for a little walk." Don said, standing and leaving. He exited the lair and walked along the sewer, kicking a rock. It's been five years and Don still wasn't over the whole dad thing. He still had nightmares and Leo was the only one who knew about it. Don sighed and sat down, hanging his feet over the edge. They skimmed the water. Don heard something behind him. He sprung up and pulled out his bo-staff. Quickly, he spun around and got in a fighting stance.

It was Splinter.

"D-dad?" Don asked, lowering his staff a little. Splinter looked down at his son, "N-no. This isn't real. This is just another nightmare." Don said, raising his staff again.

"No my son. It really _is _me." Splinter said, putting his arms out wide.

"No it's not!" Don almost yelled, dropping his staff. He started stepping back towards the wall. Splinter took a step forward, "NO! Stay back!" Don yelled, standing with his shell against the wall.

"Donatello," splinter softly said. Don's eyes started tearing up as he sunk down to the ground.

"Y-you're not real. Don't let me get my hopes up. This isn't real." Don kept saying, covering his face with his hands. Splinter's eyes started tearing up at his second youngest son, "DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!" Don screamed, tears falling to the ground.

"My son," Splinter tried saying.

"It wasn't my fault!" Don yelled, looking around. Splinter got down on one knee and put a hand on Don's shaking shoulder.

"It's really me. I promise." Splinter said, looking Donnie in the eye. Don looked up with a scared look.

"N-no. You're trying to trick me." Don said, not able to see much through his blurred vision. Don bit his lip and wiped his eyes. He saw that it really WAS his father and he wasn't in a nightmare.

"Daddy!" Don yelled, wrapping his arms around Splinter. Splinter smiled and hugged his son. Don started crying harder than before, "You're back. I missed you." Don said between sobs.

"Where are the others?" Splinter asked, stepping back.

"Back at the lair." Don said, pointing, "I can't believe that you're actually here!" Don gave Splinter another hug. Don led his father to the lair and walked on the side of the water just in case.

"Guys! Guys!" Don yelled when he entered the lair. Raph came in from the dojo, Leo peeked out from the hallway, and Mikey looked up from his video game. Splinter came into view. They all straightened.

"Dad?!" Leo asked, walking over. Splinter was still wearing the same red robe, but it was torn up and stained. His beard had grown longer and his fur was more faded.

"Leonardo. Raphael. Michelangelo." Splinter said, hugging each of them.

"A-are you really here?" Mikey asked, stepping back. His father nodded.

"C-come on Dad. I'll make you some tea while you tell us what happened. "Leo said, leading them into the kitchen. Leo started making tea while everyone sat down.

"What happened? I mean, we all thought that you were gone." Mikey said.

"And why did it take you five years to find us?" Raph asked, not believing that this was his father.

"Well, let's start with when it happened. I was knocked out and dragged out to sea. It took me so long because I was stranded in the middle of the ocean and didn't know where I was. I managed to swim to a remote island, but spent years trying to signal for help and survive. Right when I was about to give up, a helicopter found me. It took even longer because they didn't understand me. They only knew where to drop me off because of how I spoke English. It was hard enough explaining o them how I am a rat. Finally, they dropped me off somewhere in Maryland and I walked all the way here. I stayed in the different sewer systems during the day, and walked topside at night." Splinter said. Don and Mikey sat with their jaws dropped and Raph sat unbelieving. Leo sat Splinter's tea down and sat down himself. **(No hating on Splinter's story. I know it's horrible, but I couldn't come up with anything better)**.

"So what has happened around here? You all look so much older." Splinter asked, taking a drink of his tea, "I've noticed something different with Donatello and Raphael." Don smiled and Raph looked down at the chip in his plastron.

"Well, when you fell in the sewer water, I fell and hit my teeth. One fell out obviously." Don said, running his tongue along the giant space.

"I was running through the sewers one day and fell." Raph said, tipping his chair back.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here." Splinter said.

"We're just glad you're back." Leo said. Mikey pulled them into a hug.

"We really missed you." Donnie said, resting his head on Splinter's shoulder.

"Well, I'm not gone anymore." Splinter said, hugging his sons.

The End

** And they lived happily ever after and such and such. I know it's a cheesy ending but I think it's kind of cute. This fanfic is finally finished! I hope you liked and thank you SO much for reading! Please review and tell me if you liked this or not!**


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